Historic footage of Swansea has emerged that shows how parts of the city looked in the 1950s and 1970s.

The footage, discovered by Swansea Council staff at the West Glamorgan Archive Service, includes videos of Castle Street, the closing of South Dock, and motorists on a local stretch of the M4.

Businesses that can be seen in the 1952 Castle Street video include Morsmith Motors, where Pizza Express is now based, and Hawkins Cottons in the former Inspirations shop building on the corner of Castle Square.

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The 1971 video at South Dock shows how Swansea Marina used to look, prior to its regeneration and the construction of the Civic Centre site.

And footage of the M4 recorded in 1972 shows the type of vehicles that were using the road on the way to events like Wales rugby internationals at the National Stadium when stars including Mervyn Davies, Gareth Edwards and Gerald Davies were in the team.

Kim Collis, West Glamorgan Archivist at Swansea Council, said: “These videos make for terrific viewing because they show how Swansea has changed over the last 70 years or so, not just in terms of the types of vehicles and businesses on our roads, but also in terms of how areas like the former docklands have been regenerated.

South dock in 1971

“They’re among a rich collection of videos, documents, maps, photographs, films and sound recordings that are available at the West Glamorgan Archive Service in the Civic Centre for people’s enjoyment and research.

“This vast collection is also an extremely useful resource for people looking to discover their family tree or explore the local area’s fascinating history.”